Sunday, October 27, 2013

I'd venture to guess that most "pen people" have experienced some variation of the Jetstream at this point, but you may not have tried the relatively new 'BLX' model that features ink that is a blend of black with colors like red, purple, and green.

It's difficult to capture the subtle green component, at least with my proficiency using a camera but, even in person, the exact color is a bit elusive. My fiancee thought that the color might have been a dark blue with hints of grey, but I thought it was a definitely a green component, though it looks blue black in the sample.

Shown above, you can see the difficulty that the ball occasionally had in putting ink down on paper. This is an Ampad Gold Fibre Quadrille Notepad, and I guess it's just one of those things one must accept with larger diameter ballpoint tips.

The overall construction of the pen is excellent for the money. Everything feels solid and long-lasting. I like how the plastic near the top is tinted to an approximation of the ink color. The whole package is professional, modern, and well executed.

The grip area is basic, yet effective, and the barrel shape doesn't restrict how you hold the pen short of the clip occasionally getting in the way.

The final verdict is that this pen is great in most areas and could use a bit of improvement in the line consistency, but that wouldn't prevent me from giving it a solid thumbs up.

You'll have one week to e-mail me your address before a new winner is selected. Thank you, everyone, for participating. The turnout was excellent, and I'd also like to thank those of you who shared the giveaway on your social media. Stay tuned for more giveaways soon!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Retro 51 Hex-O-Matic Review that I did continues to be one of the highest traffic postings to date. It's been sitting on my shelf, and I'd like someone to have it, so I'm going to give it away!

Leave one comment on this posting to enter for the giveaway. You are limited to one entry, and duplicate entries are prohibited.

Only U.S. residents will qualify for this giveaway. I don't mean to exclude any international readers, but I have read about several instances where people are simply not receiving their packages from international sources, and I don't want anyone to be disappointed if these items are held by Customs.

Entries will be accepted between now and 11:59pm CST, on Saturday, October 26. I will post the winner at some point over the weekend.